Racing News: January 29 Morning Report

Derrick, D’Agostino, and Thweatt Commit to USA Cross CountryThree-time champion Dathan Ritzenhein has said he will be racing at the USA Cross Country Championships on the Flatirons Golf Course in Boulder on February 7. Organizers now announce that Chris Derrick, the two-time defending champion, and Ryan Vail will line up with Ritzenhein. Laura Thweatt, a two-time USATF Club Cross Country champion, and Abbey D’Agostino, a New Balance pro who was an NCAA champion for Dartmouth, head a women’s field that will also include Neely Spence Gracey and Mattie Suver. More

After a Great Half, Diego Estrada Isn’t Rushing to the MarathonEstrada, who’s been in the Olympics for Mexico but is now a U.S. citizen, ran 1:00:51 in his first serious half marathon to win in Houston on January 18. Despite his eagerness to run a marathon, he tells ESPN that he and his coach, Joe Vigil, think he may need a couple of years to develop and build up to 26.2 miles. What’s more likely is that he’ll move from his previously favored track event, the 5000, and try to make national teams in the 10,000. More

Russia’s 800-Meter Ace Yuri Borzakovsky Is RetiringHe was an Olympic 800-meter gold medalist back in 2004, but he also won a World Championships silver as recently as 2011 and a European Championship in 2012. Borzakovsky, known for stunning finishes when almost impossibly far off the lead, will run his last career race at age 33 at the Russian Winter Meeting in Moscow on Sunday, as the Associated Press reports. More

Oregon’s Men Get Motivation From Racing Each OtherThe University of Oregon men are the defending NCAA Indoor team champions. Their fiercest opponents can be each other. Edward Cheserek and Eric Jenkins went 1-2 for Oregon at last fall’s NCAA Cross Country Championships. There are nationally-ranked runners on the Ducks' roster behind those two, and three-time All-American Parker Stinson, highly ranked indoors for 3000 and 5000 meters, tells the Daily Emeraldthat at Oregon, “if you have an off day, it’s really hard. It’s already a really competitive practice.” More

Becky Wade Is Writing Book About Her Running TravelsWade won the 2013 California International Marathon in 2:30:41 at age 24. Before that, after graduating from Rice University, she used a fellowship to explore and immerse herself in running cultures in 22 countries, including Ethiopia, Japan, Australia, and Finland. Wade, who’s doing the LA Marathon on March 15, will now write a book on her experiences. The working title is Going the Distance, and the book will include travel and training tips, recipes, and photos. It’s scheduled for publication in the summer of 2016. More